


Promise Me

by Ellie5192



Series: Two Birds [9]
Category: E/R (1984)
Genre: F/M, Family Reunion
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-06-18
Updated: 2013-06-18
Packaged: 2017-12-15 09:13:23
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,747
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/847813
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ellie5192/pseuds/Ellie5192
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>“Promise me you'll never forget me because if I thought you would, I'd never leave.” ― A.A. Milne</p><p>Sam takes a second to size up his brother; the smitten grin, the gooey eyes, the way he just can’t take his gaze away from her as she walks away. If it wasn’t so genuine Sam would start heaving into a bucket.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Promise Me

**Author's Note:**

> I am so sorry that I’ve been neglecting these two. I love them dearly, and I haven’t forgotten about them, but with all the writing for A Little Light Music, and my studies keeping me busy, I just haven’t had the time to dedicate to revisiting these two. For those who are here with me still, forgive me.

**_Promise Me_ **

 

“Sam’s coming to town”

She looks up from her book to see Howard standing near the kitchen, a hesitant look on his face.

“Howard, that’s great” she says with a smile, putting her book down on the couch as she twists to look at him. It’s not an easy move to make, with her expanding belly in the way, but she’s just hit five months, and so isn’t quite _huge_ yet.

Howard doesn’t say anything, instead fidgets where he’s standing.

“Isn’t it?” she asks.

She suddenly looks worried.

“Howard, what’s wrong?”

“Nothing. It’s nothing”

“Howard”

She has a warning look in her eye, a firm expression, and he sighs and moves over to the couch to sit next to her, picking up one of her hands and absently playing with her fingers as he finds his words.

“It’s just…”

“Spit it out. Why aren’t you pleased about your wonderful brother coming to town to see you? Last time he was here you were practically throwing me at him, singing his praises”

Howard purses his lips, and focuses a little more on her hand in his own with an almost guilty look on his face. He won’t meet her eye, and understanding hits her like a truck. She hums in recognition.

“Howard” she starts, and he finally looks at her as she ducks her head to encourage him. “Are you worried that your brother coming to town is going to cause problems because you and I are now together?”

He says nothing, but a vulnerable look crosses his face, and she could laugh at him, except he looks like a lost puppy and so she only smirks and pulls him closer so his head rests in the crook of her shoulder. His hand finds the swell of her belly, and they both feel the flutter of a kick.

“Howard, I told you what happened between Sam and me- very little, if you recall”

“I know that, I know. I just-“ he stops himself with a sigh.

“You have told him about us, right?”

“Oh yeah, he knows about us, and about Peanut, and about you living here. He’s aware of all that”

“Well, then, what are you really worried about?”

She shakes his shoulder with the arm that’s around him, humming at him again as she rests her cheek on his hair.

“I guess I just worry that you like him better”

This time she does laugh. “Howard, if I did like Sam better than you then I certainly had my opportunity to say so”

He grins at her, and at himself, but he still feels the need to hear it from her. That Sam and her didn’t start something the last time he came to visit isn’t to say he’s not the better option, and though Howard has no doubt of her feelings for him- she’s told him she loves him almost every day for months- he thinks that, yes, maybe his ego is as fragile as she once accused it of being. Maybe he does just want a little more assurance that this amazing new life they’re building together isn’t about to slip through his fingers.

“I know you like me just fine-“

“Howard” she starts, and ushers him up so she can hold his shoulders and look him in the eye, hard. “I _love_ you. I love you like I haven’t loved anybody before. We’re having a baby, I’m living in your home”

She pauses, and cups his cheeks and brings him in for a brief, sweet kiss.

“I’m not going anywhere” she says quietly, rubbing his cheeks with her thumbs.

He leans forward into another kiss, this one far deeper, and she hums in the back of her throat as he lowers her backwards into the soft arm of the couch. It’s a little more cumbersome with her stomach between them, and he’s careful not to put too much weight on her, but he rests between her legs and half draped over her, and there’s nowhere in the world he likes better. She smiles when they part, and he smiles too, and she runs her fingers through his hair and over his face, studying him. He just watches her eyes, enthralled as they are, and he has a theory that when she’s doing this- this reviewing of his every feature- she’s falling right back in love with him all over again. He knows he does the same sometimes, when he looks at something like the colour of her hair in the sun, and is suddenly reminded why he loves her so much.

She finally meets his gaze again, and a smile truly lights up her face. “I’m happy right here, Howard” she whispers, and kisses him again, softly.

“I’m glad”

She grins at him, shaking her head in mirth.

“What?”

“You and your damn ego, that’s what” she says, almost laughing. “Your brother- your dear, sweet, sensitive, charming brother- comes to town, and you’re worried he’s gonna steal your girl. Your very pregnant, permanent roommate girl. Oh Howard…”

She half chuckles at him and he pokes her in the ribs. “It’s not funny, Eve. I was having a minor crisis. You shouldn’t laugh”

She stops laughing, continues smiling, and runs her fingers over his face again. “It’s cute that you care”

“I do care” he says, giving her a peck on the lips before standing up. “I also care that he’s expecting us for lunch in half an hour”

“What? You didn’t say he was already in town”

She holds out her hands and he hauls her to her feet from her reclined position. She can still make it on her own just fine, but he likes to help, and she’s getting better at accepting it.

“Yep”

She eyes him for a second, her hand going on her hip very deliberately. “Howard, did you just _vet_ me?”

He looks somewhat sheepish.

She rolls her eyes in exasperation. “Well come on, then, we wouldn’t want to keep Sam waiting”

As they’re walking into the restaurant a little while later, she fiddles with her blouse, and Howard stills her hand with his own.

“Now who’s nervous?” he mutters to her as they’re being lead to the table.

“This is the first time I’ve seen your brother since we got together, Howard. I’m half a house”

“Eve, you look like you swallowed a basketball, you’re hardly huge. And your legs are still in great shape”

She whacks his chest with the backs of her fingers just as they approach the table, and Sam stands with a wide smile on his face, his arms held open, his eyes warm.

“Eve” he calls, low and friendly.

“Hello Sam”

She steps into his hug with a grin, instantly at ease. He pulls her back a moment later, his arms cupping her shoulders as he shamelessly sizes her up. Ordinarily she can’t stand that the first thing people do these days is look at her stomach, but with Sam she gets the feeling that he’s assessing every inch of her, and she smiles bashfully as his grin never wavers.

“It’s so good to see you. You look positively radiant” he says.

He turns instantly to Howard and holds out his hand, and Howard pulls him into a firm hug.

“And you too” he says, slapping Howard on the back. “You haven’t looked this happy in a long time, Howard. Eve, you’ve been good to him”

“He’s not so bad” she replies, blushing as she takes a seat at the table, not all that surprised when Sam steps in to push her chair back in for her, ever the gentleman. The two men sit down as well, Sam graciously letting Howard take the chair right next to Eve, and how he ever thought this guy was a threat she’ll never know.

“So tell me, how is domestic life, brother? And with Jenny too- you wouldn’t know yourself having so many people around”

“It’s great. Really great. I love it”

She feels him reach for her hand under the table cloth, and she doesn’t fight him, because it doesn’t feel possessive; it feels reaffirming.

“I love having Jenny with me, to be honest. We have a lot of fun, and I worry less, knowing she’s under my roof. Better than having her move away, that’s for sure”

“I bet” says Sam, politely picking up a menu to browse. “And you, Eve? How are you finding living with the caveman over here?”

Howard shoots his brother a playful glare, and Eve just grins at them both.

“I keep him in line” she quips. She feels Howard squeeze her hand.

“That’s good. If you ever need wrangling tips, you have my number”

“I’ll be sure to call, if it ever comes to that, don’t you worry”

The two share grins over the table, and Howard looks on in mock outrage, making them both laugh. There’s an ease to their banter that is comforting for everyone. That they once flirted up a storm doesn’t seem to have affected their ability to communicate as friends; family, really, given the circumstances.

“I don’t think it’s fair that you two are ganging up on me”

The other two just laugh, and then they all spend a couple of seconds choosing from the menu and relating their order to their waitress. Eve doesn’t notice the sly look that Sam gives his brother, but Howard only shrugs, a smug look on his face and nothing short of pride in his smile. Howard excuses himself quietly to go to the bathroom, and the other two watch him go for a moment before Sam turns and looks at her.

“I have to tell you, Eve, you really are the best thing that’s happened to him in a long time. I haven’t seen him this happy in years, and Howard is usually a pretty chirpy guy to begin with”

She turns a bit sheepish, giving a faint smile. “We’re doing okay” she says with a shrug.

“I don’t mean to sound petty and judgemental, but, well, it’s a good thing you’re not like his ex-wives- he doesn’t need another like that”

She laughs, because it’s an odd comment and she doesn’t know what else to do, but she understands what Sam is saying. She’s met both of Howard’s ex-wives, though she’s had more to do with Sheila because of Jenny. She knows that she’s not the kind of woman that they seem to be; strong and feisty, but with an underlying need to be needed; clingy in their relationships. She knows that Sam knows how difficult it was for her to let go of her stubbornness enough to give this relationship a shot.

“I’ve never been the kind of woman who needs a man” she starts, and Sam gives her a smile that she finds hard to interpret. “But I have to say, I’ve liked letting him take care of me a little bit. Your brother is very good for that”

“Independence can be a very lonely place” he says with a nod, perhaps a little too knowingly, and she hums thoughtfully at his words, agreeing with that assessment based on her life before Howard.

“And what about those ex’s? Have they given you any trouble?” he asks. His brow is furrowed, and he looks genuinely concerned for her, and she finds it sweet, if a little misplaced.

“Not really. They stay out of our business, I stay out of theirs. I’ve spoken to Sheila briefly on the phone a couple of times, when she calls for Jenny, but since her wedding she’s been nothing short of lovely”

“That’s good” says Sam seriously. “The last thing you want is to be caught in some catfight with a jealous ex”

She only laughs again, just as Howard is making his way back to the table, the conversation officially over. She’s not sure what Sam was saying, under it all, but she thinks he was maybe doing some vetting of his own, and she only shakes her head as she stands and excuses herself to go to the bathroom before lunch arrives. She’s amused by the Sheinfeld need to protect her. She can’t fault them, because it is nice to be looked out for, but she is thankful that they both seem to understand that she’s a grown and capable woman who doesn’t need rescuing from anybody.

Howard and Sam watch her walk towards the bathrooms, and Sam takes a second to size up his brother; the smitten grin, the gooey eyes, the way he just can’t take his gaze away from her as she walks away. If it wasn’t so genuine Sam would start heaving into a bucket. But he’s so happy that his brother has found such a good match, and he can’t spoil it, even in jest.

“She’s good for you, Howard” he says instead.

“Don’t I know it” replies Howard, shifting is gaze to Sam.

“I mean, really good for you- exactly what you deserve, and exactly what you need”

“How do you mean?” asks Howard, sensing a deeper meaning in his words.

“I mean, she works hard and she’s fiercely self-reliant, despite the fact she’s madly in love with you. And I mean that in a good way- she won’t mooch off you like Phyllis, and won’t play head games with you like Sheila. I mean, Howard…” says Sam, leaning forward meaningfully. “… that you better snap her up and put a ring on that finger before somebody else does”

“Third time’s the charm?” asks Howard, though the serious look on his face contradicts the joke.

“If it’s the right girl. You must have talked about marriage?”

“Well with everything else… Sort of. Not really”

“What does that mean?”

“Well, she moved in with me. And we’re having a baby. And we’ve both kind of said it’s for keeps. But I haven’t actually brought it up with her, no”

“And do you know how she feels about it?”

“I think she’d prefer to be married for Peanut- she mentioned once that she always thought marriage came _before_ babies, not after…”

A look of slow realisation starts on Howard’s face, and Sam can only smirk as he watches it unfold, the many fragments of conversation coming back to his brother in waves.

“Don’t you think it’s time to have that discussion?” says Sam with a grin.

Their conversation is cut off by the arrival of Eve at the table, and she runs her hand over Howard’s shoulder just once as she lowers herself into her chair.

“You boys find something interesting to talk about?” she asks with a grin, knowing full well that Sam would have cornered Howard just like he did with her.

“Interesting. Yes” says Howard.

Their food arrives only a short while later, and the conversation becomes casual. Sam tells them about a woman he’s been seeing, and she sounds like a winner, and Howard tells him about a hilarious patient that came into the ER on their last shift. Eve wasn’t working that night, and so listens in as he describes a man high as a kite, asking Julie every two minutes if she’d marry him. They talk about sport, but only briefly, and then about the latest movies they’ve each seen. Catching up with Sam proves to be a relaxing, enjoyable afternoon, and as she watches the two joke and laugh at something only they find funny, Eve thinks it’s funny that Howard was so nervous. Sam is nothing but supportive of them, and she hopes it works out with the woman he’s seeing. He’s a good man.

She feels Howard’s hand resting casually on her leg over coffee- herbal tea for her- and she smiles. She’s really settling into this domestic thing, a lot better than she thought she would. It doesn’t feel strange to lay her hand over Howard’s and claim him right back. In fact, it feels wonderful.

With one hand on his and the other resting on her expanding belly, Eve thinks there’s very little else she needs in life. And if her mind fleetingly wanders to a dazzling diamond ring, well, she keeps that thought for another day and turns her mind back to the conversation; a quip about giraffes that she doesn’t get, and a boisterous laugh from Sam. She just grins and shakes her head. Life is pretty fantastic, actually, and isn’t that just the icing on the cake.

 


End file.
